Bruno, Chief of Police (Bruno, Chief of Police #1) by Martin Walker

PDF, EPUB, MOBI, TXT, DOC Bruno, Chief of Police (Bruno, Chief of Police #1) The first installment in a wonderful new series that follows the exploits of Beno t Courr ges a policeman in a small French village where the rituals of the caf still rule Bruno as he is affectionately nicknamed may be the town s only municipal policeman but in the hearts and minds of its denizens he is chief of police .

Bruno is a former soldier who has embraced the pleasures and slow rhythms of country life living in his restored shepherd s cottage patronizing the weekly market sparring with and basically ignoring the European Union bureaucrats from Brussels He has a gun but never wears it he has the power to arrest but never uses it But then the murder of an elderly North African who fought in the French army changes everything and galvanizes Bruno s attention the man was found with a swastika carved into his chest .

Because of the case s potential political ramifications a young policewoman is sent from Paris to aid Bruno with his investigation The two immediately suspect militants from the anti immigrant National Front but when a visiting scholar helps to untangle the dead man s past Bruno s suspicions turn toward a more complex motive His investigation draws him into one of the darkest chapters of French history World War II a time of terror and betrayal that set brother against brother Bruno soon discovers that even his seemingly perfect corner of la belle France is not exempt from that period s sinister legacy